Steam bath



L. A. PESSIN A Jan. 13, 1953 STEAM BATH 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Jan. 6, 1951 INVENTOR.

LOUIS A.PE.SSINA BY 44,/1%

ATTORNE Ys Jan. 13,1953 L. A. PESSINA 2,624,887

STEAM BATH Filed Jan. 6, 1951 2 $l-lEETS-SHEET 2 L!) m q- :8 N a N "fl I1 I" INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 13, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements I have made on a steam cabinet patented in the United States by William R. Merna on April 24, 1934, No. 1,956,394.

These improvements have for one of their objects the provision of a container within the cabinet for the storage of the crushable robe, electric cord, and other accessories.

Another object is the provision of a tank, mounted in the bottom of the storage container, with a lid opening from the top for filling with the necessary water.

A further object is to permit access to the storage container and the tank for supplying water by means of a hinged cover or seat at the top of the steam cabinet. This improvement is hereafter referred to as a cover seat.

Other objects appearing in the following description and accompanying drawings include a safe and permanent method of connecting the electric cord, the provision of an opening or receptacle in one side of the cabinet for bringing inside the electric cord for storage, and the ventilation or circulation system of the cabinet to carry out odors and dry out residual moisture within the cabinet and container. My invention also provides certain conveniences in the crushable robe.

In the drawings, which disclose a preferred embodiment of the invention:

Fig. 1 is a vertical elevation showing the exterior of the cabinet;

Fig. 2 illustrates the use of the cabinet, together with the crushable robe;

Fig. 3 shows at the right a partial bottom plan view, and at the left a partial horizontal crosssection taken along the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Figure 4 is a vertical cross-section taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 1, with a fragmentary vertical cross-section at lower left showing the assembly of the feet and bottom frame;

Figure 5 is a plan view of the cabinet with the seat removed and one corner cut out to show the support for the storage container; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary cross-section showing the conventional means for supporting the seat in an open position, the plane of the figure being the same as that of Figure 4.

Like reference characters denote like parts throughout the several views, in which four short legs ID, in the form of inverted cups, support a substantially square bottom frame ll made of L-shaped metal bars. Four tubular corner posts 12 extend upwardly from the corners of the bottom frame H and support a storage container 53 which has outwardly extending flanges l4 resting on the tops of the corner posts. A substantially square top frame !5 corresponding to the bottom frame ll surmounts the flanges of the storage container and at each corner of said top frame a tie rod it passes down through an opening in the top frame, through a hole in the flange I l, down inside the tubular corner post, through a hole in the corner of the bottom frame II and through the upper portion of the legs 19. The tie rods l6, together with the elements through which they pass, are held in position by nuts I? screwed on to the threaded ends of the tie rods at both bottom and top. The bottom nuts fit into the cup portion of the legs I0, and the upper nuts are of the crown type and serve also as spacers to prevent the cover seat [8 from resting directly on the top frame 15. This cover seat is attached to the top frame 15 by means of hinges it. It may be held in open position by means of ordinary gravity type hooked rods 2i), pivoted to the seat It and adapted to drop into engagement over pins 2| appropriately situated on the top frame i5, as shown best in Figure 6,

A vertical outer shield 22, resting on the bottom frame ll, encircles the four corner posts to form a cabinet, and carries near the top of the side opposite the hinges a vertical spring bar 23 which terminates in a hook 24 extending just above the level of the crown nuts IT. This spring bar is biased outwardly and engages an inwardly turned flange 25 on the seat IB, when that seat rests on the crown nuts. In order to raise the seat the button 26 is pressed innwardly. This button is slidably mounted in the shield 22 and bears against the spring bar 23 above the point at which that bar is attached to the shield. Inward pressure on the button 26 therefore forces the hook 24 on the spring bar 23 out of engagement with the flange 25 and releases the cover seat I8.

The storage container [3 has a large central aperture in its bottom carrying a flange 21 and a tank 28 depends therefrom, being attached to said flange by means of bolts or rivets 29. These bolts 29 pass through insulating washers 30 10- cated between the edge of the tank and the flange of the storage receptacle to prevent undue transmission of heat from the former to the latter. A pan 3| is suspended below the tank 28 by means of bolt 32. The pan contains a heating element 33, the contacts 34 for which protrude slightly through insulated openings in the bottom of the pan. The remainder of the pan is filled with a suitable insulating material, such as glass wool.

An electric cord 35 leads from the contacts for the heating element through a strain-relieving locking grommet 36 in the vertical shield 22 to a suitable floor plug 31. An opening 38 extending through both the outer shield 22 and one wall of the storage cabinet permits the floor plug to be stored within the cabinet when the steam bath is not in use, thus eliminating the danger of pulling at the wire connections due to catching the floor plug on various bathroom fixtures as the cabinet is moved from place to place when not in use.

Two horizontal pipes 39 extend outwardly in opposite directions from the tank 28 and terminate in apertures 40 in the shield 22. When the device is in operation the steam passes out from the tank through these pipes. The tankmay be covered by a lid 4i as best shown in Figure 4. A protective plate 42 carrying ears 43 at eachof its four corners is located immediately above the bottom frame H and is held in position by the vertical rods [5, one of which passes through an aperture in each ear. The protective plate 42 has perforations 4-1 to admit air as needed. It will be noted that the edges of the plate do not quite reach the flanges of the bottom frame. The space left between serves as an additional avenue for admission of air, but is too narrow to permit anyone to insert his hand and thereby accidentally come in contact with the electrical connections. A continuous circulation of air is thus provided for removing odors and excess moisture, the air passing in thermally inducedv currents up through the holes in the bottom protective plate, through the upper or lower perforations 45 in the storage container, and then out through the space between the lid and the top frame. It will be appreciated that since the tank will remain warm for some time after the electricity is turned 01f this thermal circulation will continue for quite a While and help to dry out the cabinet and its contents.

A crushable robe 46 is provided, having a front zipper 41 running downwardly from a neck opening and operable from the inside, together with a second smaller zipper 48 also operable from the inside and located conveniently to one hand of the user. The robe is floor length, and the zipper 41 runs from the neck opening to the bottom of the robe so that the user may put it on without pulling it over his head.

In use the bather lifts the cover seat, removes the tanklid, fills the tank with water, replaces the lid, lowers the seat, plugs in the electric cord,

puts on the robe and sits down on the seat, letting the skirts of the robe fall about the cabinet. Steam generated in the tank passes out through the pipes 39 and circulates beneath the robe about the body of the user. When the bather is through, he simply unzips the robe, pulls out the floor plug, folds the robe and any necessary towels and places them in the storage container, puts the floor plug into the storage container through the opening provided for that purpose, and the cabinet may then be used as a general utility seat until such time as another steam bath is desired. It will be appreciated that since the robe and towels are kept within the cabinet and there is no dangling floor plug to be coped with, the device is entirely self-contained and may be moved about with a minimum of inconvenience.

Obviously, many other modifications and variations of the invention, as hereinbefore set forth, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore, only such limitations should be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A portable steam cabinet comprising a steam generator, a vertical shield encircling said generator and open at its bottom for the admission of air, an imperiorate steam outlet pipe leading laterally from the upper part of said generator to the exterior of said vertical shield, a foraminous storage container within said shield and above said steam generator, a cover for the storage container serving also as a seat and as a iid for the vertical shield, said cover being spaced from the upper edge of said shield so that when the steam generator is hot a thermal current of air from the bottom of the shield is drawn up through the store cabinet and out through the space bcween the cover and the shield, while the steam passes from the generator to the exterior of the vertical shield through the imperforate outlet pipe without being permitted to rise into the foraminous storage container.

2. A steam cabinet as claimed in claim 1 in which said steam generator comprises a water tank opening at its top directly into the bottom of said storage cabinet, an imperforate lid for said tank, and an electric heating element below the water tank.

LOUIS A. PESSINA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 191,905 Walker June 12, 1877 758,207 Hamilton Apr. 26, 1904 1,039,962 Klotz Oct. 1, 1912 1,932,122 Schulte Oct. 24, 1933 1,956,394 Merna Apr. 24, 1934 2,070,039 Stephenson Feb. 9, 1937 2,303,455 Howard Dec. 1, 1942 

